Dear Dr. Henry: This is a subject nobody likes to talk about but its become a real problem. For over a year now I never have a normal bowel movement. In fact about every three days I have to drink 10 to 16 oz of prune juice to get rid of this awful bloated stopped up feeling. I had been blaming it on my meds I was on videx viramune and viread, but those failed. I am now on T20 Reyataz and AZT and the problem continues. I worry about having to drink all this prune juice because when I do it seems to eliminate everything in my innards. I fear that by doing this I am "eliminating" my drugs along with everything else, predisposing myself to drug failure. I eat fairly well although I seem to have trouble digesting heavy protien foods I do eat a lot of fiber and drink a lot of water and juice.I have had a colonoscopy done which was normal. Can my current drug regimen be causing this problem? I am probably the only HIV+ guy I know who doesn't have the opposite problem. Coincidentally this started at the same time as I started aquiring lopodystrophy and now have a lot of visceral fat. Any comments or suggestions you might have would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Beau

I assume you drink plenty of fluids and exercise as best you can? You may want to discuss your diet with a nutritionist. A review of all of your meds with a pharmacist may find one (perhaps not an HIV med) than causes gut problems. No evidence for thyroid problems, pancreatitic insufficiency?? KH